Vol. 1 Chapter 4.5

* * *

RUMBLE!

The thunder was so terrifying that it made her knees weak. Purple-tinged clouds flickered incessantly. Yeon felt like she had been dropped into the middle of a disaster movie.

What would they title it? Mega Thunder?

Just as she thought that, lightning struck. Aimed straight at Yeon, dangling from the cliff.

CRASH!

“Ahh!”

That was the third time she’d been struck since coming above the fog.

Her mind snapped to attention, her body trembling. A tingling energy spread down her spine to her fingertips and toes. Gritting her chattering teeth, Yeon squeezed her grip tighter.

“Hnnngh…”

Since it wasn’t real, it only went this far, but she couldn’t get used to it. And the higher they climbed, the more intense the lightning became. As if urging her to give up already.

A human made this? Then isn’t a formation the ultimate form of virtual reality?

If she mastered the formations and returned to the modern world, could she make a fortune? Not the kind that hurt people, but the kind that improved for good purposes…

Despite barely hanging on, her useless fantasies continued. As if annoyed by her, the sky began to pour.

SHWOOOOOSH.

“Ha…”

The heavy raindrops pounding her forehead flowed over her eyelids. Her vision blurred quickly, but she couldn’t just wipe it away.

“Unbelievable. What kind of person made this?”

Just as she was blinking, Cheon-gang shouted from above.

“Lady Yeon! Are you alright?”

“Yes! What about you?”

“I’m holding up. Hang on a little longer. I can see the end!”

His voice cut through the noise. Yeon nodded. Unlike her, who had nearly lost it a few times, he was strangely calm as if he were used to situations like this.

Encouraged by his support, Yeon mustered her last strength. The summit was in sight. Just then, a different, ominous sound rang in her ears.

CRACKLE, CRACK-CRACKLE!

She glanced over. A blinding halo of light flashed. A bundle of electrical current was gathering in midair. Centered on it, the perfectly constructed virtual background began to crack.

“What now?”

At the unbelievable sight, Yeon let out a hollow sound. Something like that suddenly appearing? Was it the final gate?

“Where is this maker’s conscience…”

“Lady Yeon, you need to move! Now!”

At Cheon-gang’s shout, Yeon hurriedly resumed climbing.

“Cheon-gang! Is this still part of the formation?”

He had been waiting for her to come up, but now he shook his head vigorously.

“This is the formation itself collapsing. Perhaps it’s been neglected for too long… Either way, hurry!”

Soon, the two of them, hanging side by side, climbed the wall with all their might. Meanwhile, the bundle of current was growing larger and larger.

Now, the top was only about two meters away. One or two more moves and it would be over. But because of the narrow width, it was impossible for both to climb at the same time.

Cheon-gang said,

“Lady Yeon, you first-”

At the same time, a roar erupted.

KABOOM!

The bundle of current, unable to contain its overflowing energy, exploded.

The shockwave sent a bolt of lightning, incomparable to anything before, pouring down on them. Almost simultaneously, Cheon-gang moved sideways as if performing an acrobatic feat.

CRACKLE-CRACK!

Bracing for the pain to come, Yeon squeezed her eyes shut.

One second. Two seconds. But nothing happened. Sensing something strange, she slowly opened her eyes. This energy she felt from behind… Could it be…?

“Cheon-gang! Cheon-gang, are you alright?”

“Grrr… I’m… fine.”

Cheon-gang’s voice was hoarse. His broad back had blocked the lightning. His body wasn’t touching Yeon at all. He had meant to keep the current from reaching her.

“Cheon-gang!”

“Lady Yeon, hurry up to the-”

“No! What if you fall because of this…”

CRUNCH!

Cheon-gang shoved his fingers deep into a crack in the rock. His knuckles were visibly trembling.

“Climb up… There might be… a device controlling the formation up there.”

His words snapped her back to her senses. Cheon-gang murmured as if groaning.

“Lady Yeon, go. Go and… flatten that elder’s nose…”

Something surged in Yeon’s chest. She gritted her teeth.

“You absolutely cannot fall! If you fall, I won’t let it go!”

Cheon-gang had no further answer. Reaching out roughly, Yeon pulled herself out from under Cheon-gang’s shadow. At the edge of the cliff, she dug her hands into the top and chin-upped her body up.

“Hnnngh!”

As she crawled onto the summit, something small appeared before her eyes. Standing silently amidst this hellish landscape was a single flower. Its pistil and stamen, surrounded by sharp petals, were shaped like lightning bolts.

That’s it!

Without hesitation, the moment she grabbed the stem of the lightning flower, Yeon heard dynamite explode inside her head.

KABOOM!

Along with a wave of searing heat, Yeon pulled it out with all her might.

* * *

Cheon-gang had a dream. He was back in his childhood, running through the darkness.

“Huff huff!”

Running until his breath gave out, he reached a dead end. Now it was time for his pursuer to appear. That terrifying thing that had tormented Cheon-gang hundreds, thousands of times in this tiresome nightmare.

WHOOOOSH!

In the empty void, flames erupted. Pitch-black flames, so dark they seemed to swallow all the surrounding darkness.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably with suffocating fear. His still-immature lips moved on their own.

“No… Don’t come!”

Cheon-gang didn’t usually feel fear. Not because he was brave, but because he already had something incomparably more terrifying. The pitch-black flame, Darkfire.

“You will never escape.”

Along with the demon’s whisper lodged in his memories, the fire spread. Young Cheon-gang let out a shrill scream.

The Darkfire slowly burned his body. No matter what he did, the flame wouldn’t go out. He would writhe in pain and finally die.

Cheon-gang was about to die once again.

CRACK!

A blue lightning bolt struck the ground. After slamming into the earth once, it held its form with a crackling sound. As if blocking the Darkfire that was reaching out for Cheon-gang.

The nightmare’s ending changed. Cheon-gang began to realize that this was a dream.

This is…?

While he was still shocked, the lightning grew brighter. Bright enough to illuminate even the darkness of Darkfire that he had never been able to shake off.

From that divine radiance, he felt a strangely familiar energy.